captives
by Muchadoaboutnada
Summary: Rey awakens after Starkiller to find herself imprisoned and severed from the Force. Her cellmate seems to believe they can keep from killing each other for long enough to escape, but Rey isn't so sure. Something about him just sets her off. Rating will likely change eventually!
1. dreams

Rey dreamed of falling.

 _She planted her feet on the boulders atop a waterfall on some beautiful green planet she didn't have a name for. She marveled at the wonder of her surroundings as birds sang to one another and the sun climbed above the horizon._

 _She had the vaguest sensation of being watched, but nowhere could she see anyone to watch her. She scanned her surroundings, aware that she was searching for something, but not sure what._

 _Across the waterfall basin she spied her staff nestled in a bush. She cocked her head in confusion, but assumed that must be what she was meant to find, so she began to search for a way down._

 _All of a sudden, she heard a noise behind her, like footsteps in puddles. She froze, not daring to turn around._

 _"_ _Rey," called a familiar voice behind her. Rey's entire body stiffened as her senses strained. She'd heard that voice before, and not in such a pleasant setting. She struggled to place her feet surely and turn to defend herself, but each movement took a lifetime._

 _"_ _You need to wake up now, Rey," the voice called, much closer this time. Rey's breath felt short in her chest as a hand fell upon her shoulder._

 _She instinctively jerked away from the touch, losing her footing on the wet stone. As she tumbled and twisted through air, she caught a glimpse of her adversary._

 _"_ _It's time to wake up," the voice whispered, somehow sounding right in her ear, and Rey caught a glimpse of raven hair and a scarred visage before her back hit water._

* * *

Hi friends! I'm going to go ahead and put up a disclaimer that I get the feeling this story is going to be a little jerky. The first 5 chapters were all written in one block and then later split up, so I'm not exactly sure how they're going to read. I deeply apologize if it seems disjointed, but please, leave me a comment or shoot me a message and let me know! I want to make friends, so come find me! I'm on tumblr as muchadoaboutnada and I'm on AO3 under the same name if that's the format you prefer. thanks for starting this with me!

much love


	2. meeting

Rey awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in a panic. Every muscle in her body shrieked in protest. Eyes wild, she desperately attempted to make some sense of her surroundings. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing was much too loud and erratic for her to hear much else.

At first, she could see nothing. It was very dark, and also very cold. She imagined she was in some sort of detention cell. Her heart seized in her throat as the implications of imprisonment hit her. She screwed her eyes shut and racked her brain for any clues as to how she came to be in a cell as she began slowly to feel her way about.

As her breathing slowed, she sat up on her knees and made her way forward, keeping her hands on the floor. Her fingertips searched for purchase and found none on the smooth metal floor. Several feet from where she'd started, she encountered a piece of course, dark fabric on the floor and ran it in between her fingers. She lifted it to her face, as if she could determine its origins by smelling it, or by the feel of it against her cheek. As she puzzled over the fabric, her breaths calmed enough for her to finally process another set of noises. Breaths deeper than hers. The fabric began to slide through her fingers as if a living thing, and her face froze.

"You're awake," intoned an amused-sounding male voice only a few inches from her face, "and you've got my cloak."

Rey gasped and thrust her body away from the voice, kicking blindly and making no contact in her terror. "Who's there?" she hissed as her hands searched for something, _anything,_ to use as a weapon. Unsurprisingly, she found nothing.

A deep chuckle came from the voice. "Relax. This time, I'm on your side. Promise."

All of Rey's instincts prompted her backwards, away from the speaker, but she had very little desire to find herself with her back to a wall. She thrust herself to her feet, finding herself very sore and her muscles reluctant to respond. "I asked who was there," she demanded, hoping that her voice sounded stronger than she felt.

She heard rustling and assumed that her companion was also drawing himself up.

"How long have you been watching me sleep? Planning this?" she hissed into the darkness. Her eyes were adjusting, but oh, so slowly.

The voice snorted. "What else was I supposed to be doing? You'd have gouged my eyes out if I'd attempted to wake you. And please, tell me how I'm to blame for you hitting your head? I'm not your enemy, at least not right now." She could practically hear the sneer present in his voice.

He was entirely too close for Rey's liking. She suddenly recognized the voice, somewhere deep in her gut, but she hoped and prayed to any god listening that she was wrong. She could now pick up a faint outline of his figure and realized that she likely couldn't see him because of his dark clothing. All she could tell in the darkness was that he towered over her, furthering her desire to get as far away from him as possible.

"Tell me what happened. How did I get stuck in here with you? And tell me your name. I'm not going to ask again," she warned. She swore she could see him smile in the shadows and scowled in his direction.

"You know who I am, Rey. Don't be stupid. I am Kylo Ren, First Knight of the Knights of Ren, heir to the Sith dynasty and grandson to Darth Vader, though I'd suspect not much of that matters in here. We're both prisoners, as I keep telling you. We're both trapped, although I don't yet know by who. After the earthquake, you must have fallen and hit your head. I was abducted while receiving care for my injuries." He stepped even closer and Rey's curiosity outweighed her fear; she squinted up into his face. She could feel his body heat coming off him in waves. "You're not a bad saber duelist, by the way," he added, his smirk evident in his tone.

Rey took a chance and threw a punch with all of her weight behind it. She'd meant it to connect with his throat, but he dodged her with ease and just grabbed her fist in one hand, holding it in the air. She struggled, annoyed with herself for not foreseeing this outcome.

He leaned down, face to hers, as she tried desperately to pull her hand away from him. She found she could make out most of his features, the most prominent being the ugly scar slashed across his face and down his jaw. His face twisted into a sneer as he considered her in turn. Her heart leaped into her throat even as some part of her blushed under his scrutiny.

"Admiring your handiwork, are you?" he muttered. "Like I said, not bad. I elected to not have it removed, not that the med staff had the chance to even try. It'll give me a nice reminder to not underestimate my enemies; obviously, even untrained desert brats can get in a lucky shot or two."

"You're scum, you filthy traitor," she seethed through her teeth, working up the courage to spit in his face. She saw his eyes widen and darken with thinly veiled rage.

He smiled, and it was then that her stomach truly sank. He grinned at her as he wiped saliva off his cheek, pausing to consider before wiping his hand down her own cheek. Finally, he released her wrist, flinging her away from him. While she stumbled to her knees, he gracefully swept to the floor, though she noticed he strongly favored his left side.

"I think you'll come to regret that, scavenger," he murmured under his breath. Rey dared not to move, even to wipe the cold saliva off of her cheek. _Yes_ , she mused, _I believe I'm regretting it already_.

* * *

Hi friends! I decided to go ahead and post the second chapter since the first one is so short. From here on out, they'll all be about this length-somewhere around a thousand words. Length is not my strong suit, I'll apologize for that in advance. As always, make sure to leave me a review if you enjoy, or if there's something that jumps out to you that needs improvement! Although if you've got a nitpick about my grammar, I'd prefer you take that to my private inbox ;)

much love


	3. severed

"So tell me, scavenger," Kylo began in a tone that others might mistake as conversational. Rey knew better. "Have you felt anything through the Force?" He cocked his head at her in a mocking imitation of interest and smiled, though his hands were still clenched into fists.

From her seated position several feet away, her glare slowly froze and dropped from her face.

Rey's face burned. She hadn't even thought to try and utilize the Force. She reached out then, tentatively at first, feeling nothing. Confused, she tried again. There was no wall, as she'd sometimes felt. It was as though the Force simply didn't exist. She pushed her consciousness as far away as she could, hoping desperately for some flicker of return. Nothing She gaped at him, hoping for answers.

He shrugged. "You don't feel anything, do you?" When she shook her head no, he pointed at her wrist, holding up his own for her to see a thin metal cuff. She looked down to see its twin on her own arm.

"Force-blocking technology of some sort. I've never seen anything like it. Whoever took us knows us and is targeting our Force sensitivity. And they've likely been planning this for some time. Not even the best minds could create something this advanced so quickly." He shook his head. "I can't believe I never felt anything about it. I always hear what others think about me. It's exhausting. And I never picked up on _anything_ concerning...whatever this is. I have a few ideas, but none of them are any use without the Force."

Rey cocked her head. "You've tried to get it off, haven't you?" She ran her fingers lightly over the cool metal, testing it for a seam, but she found none.

He sneered at her. "Of course I have, you idiot. As soon as I realized what it was doing to me. I've been steeped in the Force since infancy. This…this feels like blindness."

Rey suddenly noticed the way he cradled his wrist in his lap, the way the skin around his cuff was raw and bloody. This way, momentarily softened, she could see the sharp resemblance to his parents.

The thought took her by surprise and she squared her shoulders against it, determined not to let softness be the difference between her life and death. "Okay, if you're really a prisoner, have you got any kind of plan to get out? I don't plan on spending any longer stuck with you than is absolutely necessary."

He held up his shackled wrist, rolling his eyes. "Until we get these off, there is no 'getting out.' If we can't use the Force, we're essentially still trapped."

Rey snorted at that. "Speak for yourself; I didn't even know what the Force was until a few months ago. If I could just get out of this cell, I'd figure out a way to get the cuff off. Eventually."

He scoffed at her. "What makes you think you know this technology well enough to get out of it on your own, without frying your brain? You don't have a clue what they've done to it. You don't know if it's anchored to your central nervous system, or to your head. Who knows? Trying to get it off might kill you. That's why we have to wait."

She turned her back on him at that, her desire to annoy him outweighing her fear. If they were truly trapped in here together, he wouldn't be so stupid as to attack her. "I'd figure something out. I'm a decent mechanic, and I know how machinery works. I'd figure out a way to cut it off. I don't know how you could understand, as spoilt as you are, but when you have to scavenge for your life, you get to be pretty resourceful," she tossed back over her shoulder.

He laughed at her back. "What a childish display. I forget that you aren't used to having to behave in company, desert brat," he taunted.

Rey bristled. "I wasn't aware that I was in company," she spat. "Surely, scum such as yourself can't be counted as worthy of my respect."

He was silent after that, and the stillness unnerved her, enough that she threw a quick look over her shoulder.

Kylo's face took up nearly all of her vision, having somehow snuck up behind her and settled just behind her shoulder. In a less tense situation, she supposed her squeal and objectively undignified spasms across the floor might have been comical. In this scenario, however, at least to Rey, her arms and legs had become like foreign objects to her, unwilling and unable to comply with her will quickly enough. She scuttled away, feeling her desperation mount as her fingertips scrabbled for purchase on the metal floor.

She threw herself away from him as though she'd been struck by lighting, shoulder and back making a loud thud against the back wall. Her panic rose as she realized she'd hit the wall far sooner than she had expected, and had no way of knowing which way she should turn to get away from him. Pain dimly registered in the back of her mind, but anything other than her crushing, desperate fear was drowned out.

It took one single heartbeat for her to realize she had no avenue of escape. It took only one more to truly take note of Kylo's physical size. If he meant to harm her, she might not be able to stop him, not without the Force.

* * *

Hi friends! So, here's the update. I tweaked and tweaked and tweaked it and it still didn't end up quite how I wanted it, but I'm tired of looking at it. I'm thinking that for this story, I'm going to try and update biweekly, just because I have so many other project also going on that I want to get out of my brain and onto the internet for you all!

I'm on tumblr! Come say hello to me! I'm muchadoaboutnada, same as I am on here. I'd love to make friends with you guys!

As always, leave me a review or shoot me a message with your thoughts, questions, concerns, etc! I love hearing from y'all!

much love


	4. trapped

Rey's heart pounded in her ears, breath quick and too shallow in her chest. Her fear settled over her like a heavy blanket.

However, Kylo Ren did not advance. He merely rocked back onto his heels and watched her from two, maybe three feet away, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"What the hell, Ren?" she hissed, trying desperately to calm her heartbeat. He watched her silently, as if considering. As she tried and failed to regulate her breathing and heartbeat, she waited expectantly for him to speak, but no words came. He simply cocked his head to the side and stared at her with wide dark eyes.

Their cell seemed to have a window of sorts, for while the pair stared each other down, their shared space had gradually lightened. Soon, Rey could make out specific features, and she could see Kylo studying her own as the light grew stronger.

Her heart still beat too quickly for her liking, but after several seconds she had calmed enough to know that she needed to gain some kind of victory over this man.

"I'm not afraid of you, you know," she muttered, hating the softness of her voice, the breathiness of it.

Kylo laughed, the sound too loud for the small space. The waves reverberated off the metal walls and Rey could feel it in her core. "I don't know, scavenger. The way you scrambled away from me just now would suggest otherwise." He paused and flicked his eyes down her barely-visible form. "The way you're watching me might suggest something as well, but I'm not sure what yet."

Rey made a noise low in her throat that might have been disdainful, embarrassed that he would tease her as if they were friends. "Wanting to be aware of my enemy's whereabouts is not the same as fear, Kylo Ren."

She almost missed the way his eyes dilated and darkened slightly at her use of his full name, but she could hardly miss the lazy smirk that drew over his face.

He slowly pulled himself up to his full height, eyes never leaving hers, forcing Rey to do the same or risk being trapped under him. She mimicked his careful movements, feeling vaguely threatened. Her muscles still groaned in protest, but she stood, glancing nervously around the cell. He gave an absolutely wicked smile, all teeth and narrowed eyes.

Slowly, with an almost predatory grace, Kylo began to stalk toward her. She took a step away from him, keeping her back to the cell wall, maintaining their distance. She met his eyes with apprehension, and he grinned, baring all his teeth at her.

"Thought you said you weren't afraid of me, Rey," he nearly purred. "You look awfully afraid from where I'm standing."

Rey continued to edge away from him, keeping her eyes locked on his slow advance, shoulders hunched up somewhere around her ears. "You must be blind," she hissed, "I'm not afraid of you."

He stilled, eyes frank and wide, and Rey dared to take a moment to mull over his earlier admission. He'd had the force from such a young age, he couldn't possibly be comfortable with hand to hand combat, not the way she was, could he? It isn't as though he ever had a reason to rely on it. Not the way she had. Perhaps if she could move quickly enough, lunge low enough, she could catch him off balance. He'd be more manageable on his back.

While she thought, Rey's concentration had slipped just ever so slightly, just enough to miss the way Ren had lowered himself into somewhat of a crouch.

By the time she focused back on the contents of the cell, she had only a breath before he charged her, pinning her to the wall as he towered over her. He delicately placed his forearm across her collarbone, near enough to her throat to make her nervous, but not enough to cut off her breath. He caged her legs with his hips, cutting off her immediate plan of kicking him until he let her go. His other hand threaded itself almost lazily though her hair. The whole exchange had taken perhaps four seconds.

"I'm not going to snap your neck, sand rat," he murmured into her cheek, "because of the immense loss to the galaxy if a Force user like you were lost, and because it isn't impossible that you might be useful in escaping this cell. But you're going to listen to me." Rey stared at him uncomprehendingly, confused and angry.

"Come on, Rey," he laughed, now trailing his fingertips down her cheek. "I thought you weren't afraid of me? Let's be a team."

Rey's heart pounded in her chest, painfully obvious to both her and her cellmate. His eyes darted down to the base of her throat where her pulse jumped like a startled rabbit. An obscene blush bloomed along her cheeks and Kylo laughed again as he felt the heat blossom under his fingers. In her weakened state, she knew she stood next to no chance of breaking his hold on her. She couldn't get her knee up for a strike to the groin, and her hands were trapped under his torso.

She stared into his face, getting her first good look at him since Starkiller.

Her saber had truly done a number on his face. A thick gash ran from his right temple over his nose and down his left jaw where it disappeared into his clothing. He was very, very lucky he hadn't lost an eye.

"Not pretty, is it? I wouldn't want to be the person who gave me that. I'm going to want to get them back for it at some point," he crooned in her ear. "I don't think I'll ever bother getting it erased."

His weight on her and his body heat, although welcome in the cold of the cell, and her own feeling of stark terror were nearly overwhelming to her. She couldn't get any of her thoughts straight. One way or another, she needed him off of her so she could think and process.

She needed to distract him just long enough to slip out of his grasp."

"You know, you should answer me when I speak to you. I know you don't learn much in the way of manners on that desert trash heap, but you should have at least learned that," he taunted, his breath ruffling the hairs escaping her ties. All of a sudden, Rey remembered the way she'd seen some of the older girls on Jakkuu distract men who had no business in their company.

As she filed through her options, Kylo's smirk only grew more pronounced. "Awfully quiet, aren't you? Finally remembered that you're in the presence of your better? Don't worry Rey, I won't bite, not unless you—"

With all the strength left in her body, she surged against him, crashing her lips into his, effectively silencing him. She'd hoped he would recoil, allowing her enough room to escape his grasp. At the very least, she'd hoped for enough surprise that she'd be able to slip under his arm.

Unfortunately, Rey seemed to have overestimated Kylo's disgust with her.

* * *

Hi friends! Finally here with an update. Finally. I'm thinking maybe Monday's will be when I post for this? Let me know what you think. Also make sure to leave me suggestions and such, I really take them to heart. As always, leave me a review or send me a message with any thoughts!

much love


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